Timeline of Asmara explained

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Asmara, Eritrea. Asmara was under Italian colonial rule from 1889 until 1941.

Prior to 20th century

• circa 1515 CE - Four villages merge to become "Asmera" (traditional date).
• 16th century - Asmara sacked by Muslim forces.
• 1889 - 3 August: Asmara occupied by Italian forces under command of Baldissera.
• 1895 - Governor's Palace built.
• 1900 - Capital of colonial Italian Eritrea moved to Asmara from Massawa.^[1]

20th century

• 1905 - Congresso Coloniale Italiano held in Asmara.^[2]
• 1906 - Asmara Synagogue built.
• 1911 - Ferrovia Massaua-Asmara begins operating; opens.^[3]
• 1920
  • Teatro Asmara (theatre) opens.
  • Population: 14,711.^[4]
• 1922 - Airport begins operating.
• 1923 - Church of Our Lady of the Rosary built.
• 1930s - New Governor's Palace built (now City Hall).^[5]
• 1935 - Population: 16,000 (12,000 Africans + 4,000 Italians).
• 1936 - Apartheid begins; city racially divided into nazionali (white) and indigeni (black) areas.
• 1937
  • Asmara-Massawa Cableway begins operating.
  • Albergo CIAAO (hotel) built for the Compagnia Immobiliare Alberghi Africa Orientale.
  • Cinema Excelsior and Cinema Teatro Augustus open.^[6]
• 1938
  • Great Mosque of Asmara, Cicero Stadium, and Fiat Tagliero Building constructed.
  • Cinema Impero opens.
• 1939
  • Asmara Brewery in business.
  • Population: 84,000 (36,000 Africans + 48,000 Italians).
• 1941
  • March. British occupy city.
  • Asmara Brewery FC (football club) formed.
• 1945 - Red Sea FC (football club) formed.
• 1951 - British occupation ends.
• 1952 - City becomes part of Ethiopia per United Nations decision.
• 1953 - United States military signals intelligence Kagnew Station in operation.
• 1957 - (school) active.
• 1958
  • Catholic College of the Santa Famiglia founded.
  • Denden Stadium opens.
• 1959 - Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Asmara active.^[7]
• 1962 - Population: 120,000.^[8]
• 1964 - Population: 131,800.^[9]
• 1968
  • January: Part of 1968 African Cup of Nations football contest held in Asmara.
  • University of Asmara active.
• 1969 - Kidane Mehret Cathedral built.
• 1974
  • Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army (Derg) in power.
  • 28 December: Massacre occurs during the Eritrean War of Independence.
• 1975
  • February: Fighting, Massacre occurs.
  • July: Fighting occurs.
• 1985 - Population: 284,748 (estimate).^[10]
• 1990
  • Siege of city begins.
  • Population: 358,100 (estimate).^[11]
• 1991
  • 24 May: Eritrean People's Liberation Front take city; Derg rule ends.
  • newspaper begins publication.
• 1993
  • 24 May: Asmara becomes capital of independent Eritrea.
  • Eri-TV begins broadcasting.^[12]
• 1998 - 5 June: Airport bombed by Ethiopian forces during the Eritrean–Ethiopian War.

21st century

• 2002 - Semere Russom becomes mayor of Asmara and administrator of the Central Region.
• 2013 - 21 January: 2013 Eritrean Army mutiny occurs at Eri-TV building.^[13]
• 2017 - Italian city centre designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• 2018 - Population: 501,203 (estimate).
• 2020 - Rocket attacks.

See also

• Asmara history
• Asmara under Italy, 1889-1941

References

This article incorporates information from the Italian Wikipedia and Spanish Wikipedia.

Bibliography

• Asmara . 2 . 763 . 1910 . . 1.
  • Book: Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century African History . . Dickson Eyoh . Routledge . 0415234794 . 2003 . Asmara, Eritrea. Redie Bereketeab. .
• Karin Caesar . Katarina Rosengren . Analysis of the Situation for Cyclists in Asmara . MA . . Sweden . 2003.
• Book: . . Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience . Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-517055-9 . 2nd . 2005. Asmara, Eritrea . 278+. David P. Johnson, Jr. . .
• Marie Bridonneau . Kushet, un village périurbain de l'agglomération d'Asmara: politique d'aménagement et recomposition spatiale . . 13 . 10.4000/cy.1384 . fr . . 2006. 13 . free .
• Book: Edward Denison . etal . Asmara: Africa's Secret Modernist City . Merrell . 9781858943824 . 2003 . 2007.
• Book: United Nations Human Settlements Programme . Eritrea: National and Cities Urban Profile: Asmara, Massawa & Mendefera . 2008.
• Book: Belula Tecle-Misghina . Asmara, an urban history . Edizioni Nuova Cultura . Rome . 978-88-6812-354-3 . 2014.
• Gian Luca Podestà . Asmara and Dek'emhare: Cities of Work, Cities of Leisure . Diacronie . 21 . 10.4000/diacronie.1919 . Revues.org . 2015. . free . ISSN 2038-0925.
• Book: Sean Anderson. Modern Architecture and Its Representation in Colonial Eritrea: An In-visible Colony, 1890-1941. Routledge. 978-1-317-09478-4 . 2016. Asmara . 69–146. .

External links

• Web site: (Asmara) . . UK . (Bibliography of open access articles)
• Web site: (Asmara) . . (Bibliography)
• Web site: Asmara, Eritrea . . US .
• Web site: (Asmara) . Connecting-Africa . . Leiden, Netherlands . (Bibliography)
• Web site: (Asmara) . . (Images, etc.)
• Web site: (Asmara) . . (Images, etc.)

Notes and References

1. Book: Europa Publications . Political Chronology of Africa . Political Chronologies of the World . 2001 . 0203409957 . Eritrea .
2. Il Congresso Coloniale all'Asmara . Rivista geografica italiana e Bollettino della e coloniali in Firenze . 12 . it . 1905 .
3. Achèvement du chemin de fer de Massaoua à Asmara . . 21 . fr . . 1912.
4. Book: Statesman's Year-Book . 1921 . London . Macmillan and Co.. Italy: Colony of Eritrea . https://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.32101072368440?urlappend=%3Bseq=1079 . . Statesman's Year-Book . 2027/njp.32101072368440?urlappend=%3Bseq=1079 .
5. https://dadfeatured.blogspot.com/2018/08/italian-asmara.html Asmara italiana
6. Web site: Movie Theaters in Asmara, Eritrea . CinemaTreasures.org . Cinema Treasures LLC . Los Angeles . 4 August 2017 .
7. Web site: Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: Eritrea . . Norway . 5 August 2017 .
8. . via Google Books
9. Book: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/1960_round.htm . Demographic Yearbook 1965 . 1966 . . New York . Population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 and more inhabitants . 140–161 .
10. Book: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/1980_round.htm . 1985 Demographic Yearbook . 1987 . United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistical Office . New York . Population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 and more inhabitants . 247–289 .
11. Web site: Population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 or more inhabitants . Demographic Yearbook 2010 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120710195658/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2009-2010/Table08.pdf . 2012-07-10 .
12. Book: Africa South of the Sahara 2004 . Regional Surveys of the World . . 2004 . 1857431839 . Eritrea: Directory .
13. Web site: Eritrea Profile: Timeline . BBC News . 4 August 2017 .